Mexico Moves Closer to Biometric ID – Will The People Comply?

Privacy advocates warn that a package of new laws recently passed in Mexico are a dangerous step towards requiring digital ID for all interactions.

Originally Published at The Last American Vagabond

As of Thursday July 17th, several new laws went into effect in Mexico which are likely to greatly increase the push towards a digital surveillance state.

The Mexican government says these new laws are aimed at fighting organized crime, drug trafficking, and helping with the search for missing people. The government has also argued that controversial changes to the nation’s telecommunications laws are designed to bridge the so-called “digital divide”, referring to the limited access to internet and cellular service in rural areas compared to urban environments.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheibaum has claimed that critics who have referred to the laws as a “spy law” or a “censorship law” are ignoring protections built into the new measures.

“It is false, it is a lie that the laws passed have to do with the State spying. False, it is a deliberate lie,” said Sheinbaum at a July press conference.

The most concerning change relates to the personal identity code for residents and citizens of Mexico known as the Clave Única de Registro de Población (Unique Population Registry Code), or CURP. Typically, the CURP consists of 18 characters related to a person’s family names, their place of birth, and their gender. The CURP operates similarly to the US Social Security number.

The new laws are set to require the CURP to include an applicant’s photograph and a QR code containing biometric data such scans of both fingerprints and eyes. The law calls for the creation of a “Unified Identity Platform” within 90 days by the Ministry of the Interior and the Digital Transformation Agency. The platform will integrate the biometric CURP with the healthcare system as well.

Mexico’s civilian intelligence service, the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia or CNI, and the National Guard will have access to the biometric data.

The biometric CURP would also be required for purchasing internet and cellular service. This would force businesses selling these services to check a customers CURP before purchase.

The law is supposed to be in effect across the country by February 2026. However, in a country known for having a weak federal government and rampant corruption it remains unclear how the policies will be enforced.

Mexican lawyer Alejandro Peña recently warned that the biometric CURP and the requirements for access to internet and phone service are not about protecting the country.

“Are we protecting the country or controlling the citizens? The Internet in Mexico will no longer be free,” Peña stated.

José Flores, director of local digital rights group R3D, said these new laws will create a detailed map of individual’s activities.

“This puts us in a massive surveillance ecosystem with no provisions to identify wrong use of data, data breaches, identity theft or acts of corruption,” said Flores.

Trump’s Role in the Expansion of Biometric Collection

The new laws could allow Mexico’s Security Minister the ability to establish data sharing agreements with other countries, including a potential deal with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hand over biometrics of suspected illegal immigrants who enter the US from Mexico.

US President Donald Trump’s ramping up of mass deportations of illegal immigrants and increased pressure on the Mexican government is also contributing to the rise of biometric data collection.

It will be by air, by land and by sea, according to Trump. So that’s not just immigrants. Welcome to your Freedom MAGA Biometric tracking system: https://t.co/yu4p8mRH0D pic.twitter.com/7vqXDr6JvO

— The Last American Vagabond (@TLAVagabond) January 18, 2025

In late March, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem told Fox News she met with Sheinbaum and told her Trump wanted Mexico to share biometric information of migrants in exchange for ending tariffs on the nation.

“She did sign some of those agreements with us, and I asked her specifically to share biometric information [of migrants] with us and she’s willing to discuss that even though that in her country would be a little bit controversial,” Noem said.

Noem’s statements came on the heels of the US and Colombia signing a “statement of intent for biometric cooperation” to “manage migration”.

“Today we have signed a statement of intent for biometric cooperation and it will reaffirm our strong and our resilient and our enduring partnership,” Noem said at the time.

Telecommunications Law Changes Could Lead to Censorship

In addition to requiring CURP verification before activating internet or cellular service, the newly passed measures include changes to Mexico’s telecommunications law.

Supporters of the new law say that it will help address the digital divide between the nations 46% of the population which lives in rural areas, often in poverty, without access to internet and cell service. While the law does call for allowing the state-owned electric utility known as the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to open up internet service for rural areas, critics say the telecommunication changes will lead to surveillance and censorship.

For example, the law forces internet service providers to share users’ real-time geolocation data with Mexican authorities upon request.

While President Sheinbaum says that no data will be shared without a court order, critics says the changes will not require judicial approval before tracking a cellphone. They also warn that Mexican authorities will be able to shut down cellphone or internet service whenever and wherever they choose in the name of fighting crime.

Opponents of the changes say that it will allow for the temporary blocking of digital platforms upon request by authorities “for failing to comply with regulatory provisions.”

Sheinbaum denied the changes would amount to censorship or surveillance.

However, Kenia López Rabadan, a Congresswoman with the opposition National Action Party (PAN), called the bill an overreach in a column for El Universal newspaper. She said the bill would “permit the government to cancel content that it finds uncomfortable.”

The Emerging Mexican Technocratic State

Back in 2021, I asked “Is the Technocracy Coming to Mexico?“, in response to worrisome developments taking place at that time. I reported that a “proposed plan to put millions of cell phone users’ data in a biometric database has caused controversy and some pushback from companies and privacy groups.”

The bill specifically called for telecoms to install biometric equipment anywhere cell phones are sold. If someone failed to turn in their data, cell phone carriers would be required to cut their service.

I also discussed how Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies in Mexico approved a law at the time which, I argued, “could lead to a national digital ID system”. Forbes Mexico reported that the General Law on Population, Human Mobility and Interculturality would create a new digital ID and a database of personal data of Mexican citizens, including biometrics.

The “Cédula Única de Identidad Digital” would be free to obtain and contain names, surnames, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, and biometric data, together with the CURP.

I also reported in 2023 that corporations like the Thales Group, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations were pushing for digital ID programs in Mexico. I noted that the World Bank and the UN have been funding the development of such programs as part of the Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative.

The World Bank has also funded digital biometric ID programs in Mexico, with the ostensible goal of providing legal identity to the 1.1 billion people who do not currently have one. The goal is to get the world on digital IDs by 2030 as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.

Now, in 2025, it appears that the newly passed package of laws will advance both of these agendas, propelling Mexicans closer to biometric requirements for internet and phone access, as well as an early form of digital identity.

What do these changes mean for the tens of thousands of foreigners who emigrated to Mexico over the last 5 years?

Many people were inspired by Mexico’s mostly relaxed response to the COVID-19 panic and decided to move their lives to the developing nation. Others have believed that Mexico’s slower pace of adoption of emerging technologies meant that the nation would not embrace Technocracy as rapidly as their northern neighbors in the US and Canada, or Western Europe.

However, despite the passing of these new laws, it remains to be seen how the situation develops on the ground. The Mexican federal government is notoriously inefficient and lacks infrastructure and manpower to enforce this across the diverse landscape of the country, particularly in the rural areas.

If there is to be a true resistance to the advance of the biometric security state, Mexicans and foreign expats must come together to form alliances to combat these invasive practices.

One thing is certain, whether in Mexico or any other nation, the only thing preventing the rolling out of the Technocratic State is for the people to organize, to resist, and to opt-out where possible. Without this resistance, Mexico is destined to become yet another nation under the grip of the international surveillance grid.